Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday accused the Taliban and the U.S. of working in concert to convince Afghans that violence will worsen if most foreign troops leave — an allegation the top American commander in Afghanistan rejected as “categorically false.”

Karzai said two suicide bombings that killed 19 people on Saturday — one outside the Afghan Defense Ministry and the other near a police checkpoint in eastern Khost province — show the insurgent group is conducting attacks to demonstrate that international forces will still be needed to keep the peace after their current combat mission ends in 2014.

“The explosions in Kabul and Khost yesterday showed that they are at the service of America and at the service of this phrase: 2014. They are trying to frighten us into thinking that if the foreigners are not in Afghanistan, we would be facing these sorts of incidents,” he said during a nationally televised speech about the state of Afghan women.

Afghanistan urges coalition to stop “abusing” university students
Afghan President Hamid Karzai gives a speech during an event to mark International Women’s Day in Kabul March 10, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
KABUL | Sun Mar 10, 2013 7:56am EDT

(Reuters) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government on Sunday accused U.S.-led forces and Afghans working with them of abusing and arresting university students and urged them to stop such acts.

The allegations were made during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. “We notify the international coalition force’s leadership to avoid such acts which are against Afghanistan’s national sovereignty,” Afghanistan’s Council of Ministers said in a statement.

(Reporting by Mirwais Harooni; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Robert Birsel)

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